The number of non-managed bee types in the European continent confronting dying out has increased twofold over the past decade, whereas the count of endangered butterfly species has nearly doubled.
This pressing issue for essential pollinating species was unveiled by scientific studies for the IUCN red list, which established that at least 172 bee species out of nearly two thousand were facing extinction in European nations.
The total of butterfly types threatened with extinction in European nations has increased from 37 to over sixty since the earlier research, carried out 14 years ago. One type, the Madeiran large white (Pieris wollastoni) has now been confirmed extinct.
In addition to their visual charm and cultural value, pollinators like bees along with butterflies are lifelines for our physical condition, our food systems and our economies – sustaining the fruits, vegetables and seeds that feed us,” said the IUCN’s director general. “The most recent European red list evaluations reveal major obstacles, with threats mounting for butterfly types and essential wild bee types.”
The causes of the rapid recent declines are the continuing harm or degradation of living environments caused by agricultural intensification and abandoned land, wetland drainage, livestock overgrazing, and the use of fertilisers and pesticides including neonicotinoid pesticides. The fragmentation of pollinator-friendly habitat substantially boosts the threat of extinctions at local level.
Climate change is also revealed to be a primary risk: 52% of all at-risk butterfly types in Europe are threatened by the climate crisis – about twofold the amount as a previous decade.
As many as 90% of plants that flower in the European continent depend on pollination by animals, as per the wild bee assessment’s lead coordinator. “Unfortunately, native bee groups are in severe drop and cannot readily be substituted by domesticated hives,” he said. “If non-managed bees vanish, many native plants might be at risk too – of which flower-rich meadows and beautiful orchid species are just a couple of instances.”
Fifteen types of bumblebee types, which perform a vital function in fertilizing peas, beans, peanuts and clover, and fourteen varieties of cellophane bees, recognized for fertilizing trees such as willow trees and red maples, are now listed as threatened. Simpanurgus phyllopodus, a mining bee type unique to the mainland and the single type of this genus group in Europe, is now classified as critically at risk – the scientific category most akin to extinction in the wild.
Butterfly types that are solely present on mountain tops are highly susceptible to global warming as they must ascend higher as their living spaces become more heated but eventually run out of space. In Spain’s southern region, the Nevada grayling butterfly and the anomalous blue of Andalusia are among over forty percent of species endemic to Europe (solely present in Europe) at risk of extinction.
In the Mediterranean, varieties such as the severely threatened grayling of Karpathos are endangered by extreme wildfires and drought.
At the same time, in the Arctic Circle, climate change is resulting in the timberline to advance northwards by tens of metres each year, with underbrush encroaching on wetlands and tundra. Higher temperatures also mean Arctic deer can no more cross the ice to browse northern grasslands and prevent them from overgrowing. Eight types of butterflies are facing extinction in this zone, including the fritillary of Freyja and the Arctic ringlet butterfly.
“The largest living space for all these pollinating insects is flower-rich grassland and that is disappearing very fast in the European continent because of all these elements,” stated Martin Warren. “The good news is that so many individuals are aware now and there’s a lot more awareness. Under the European Union nature restoration law, all participating nations have to turn around the decrease in pollinating insects by twenty-thirty, and they are going to have to initiate measures. There are property owners who are interested. Let’s hope they can obtain the motivations that will assist them on their way.”
According to the coordinator, there is “low-hanging fruit” in terms of action for pollinating species which will not lower food production – and might boost it – such as farmers developing flower-rich margins around their farmland.
the EU’s environment commissioner, described the conservation status of non-managed bees, butterfly species and other pollinating insects as “critical”.
“Immediate and joint measures is required to tackle this danger. Along with member countries, the European Commission has implemented an EU-wide observation system for pollinators based on the European Union nature restoration legislation, which will assist in monitoring our advancement. Now, we need to concentrate on execution and partnership with member countries to safeguard our pollinators,” she said.
The publication of the assessments on bees and butterflies is subsequent to the first EU-wide study on hoverflies, a further vital pollinator group. Released in 2022, it revealed that thirty-seven percent of all hoverfly varieties in Europe were threatened with extinction.
